Senegal stripped of AFCON 2026 title: four other teams lost trophies after winning them

Senegal has been dramatically stripped of its AFCON title after CAF upheld Morocco’s protest, ruling that Senegal’s decision to walk off the field in protest at a late Moroccan penalty constituted a breach of competition rules.

In a highly unusual ruling, CAF awarded Morocco a 3–0 win along with the trophy, finding that Senegal’s abandonment of the match had a direct impact on the outcome of the final.

READ ALSO: Senegal calls for investigation into removal of its AFCON 2026 title

Such retroactive punishments are rare, but not without precedent. Here are five other instances where teams lost titles after initially winning them.

Marseille (1992–1993)

Marseille secured both the Ligue 1 and Champions League that season, but were later stripped of the league title after a match-fixing scandal came to light.

Club chairman Bernard Tapie was found to have orchestrated a 250,000 franc bribe to Valenciennes players Christophe Robert, Jorge Burruchaga and Jacques Glassmann to underperform in a decisive match.

Valenciennes lost the match, confirming Marseille’s title, but Glassmann reported the incident after declining the offer. As a result, Marseille were relegated to Ligue 2.

Second-placed Paris Saint-Germain declined to receive the title, reportedly due to concerns from owners Canal+ over possible broadcast losses in Marseille.

Despite further allegations, Marseille retained their Champions League victory.

Juventus (2004-2005, 2005-2006)

The Calciopoli scandal deprived Juventus of two Serie A titles.

General manager Luciano Moggi was found guilty of influencing referee appointments over several seasons. He received a life ban and the club was relegated to Serie B.

Juventus has consistently contested the verdict, continuing to record the titles in its own records and contesting the transfer of the 2005–06 Scudetto to Inter Milan fdsr.

Genoa (2004–2005)

In a lesser-known Italian scandal, Genoa was stripped of its Serie B title.

Genoa needed a win on the final day to secure promotion and faced the already relegated Venezia. Club officials paid Venezia general manager Giuseppe Pagliara €250,000 to influence the outcome – money that was later discovered in his car.

The Italian federation responded by relegating Genoa to the bottom of the table, resulting in relegation to Serie C1. It later emerged that promotion rivals Torino had also tried to boost Venezia in the same match.

Shanghai Shenhua (2003)

Shanghai Shenhua rose to prominence in later years by signing high-profile players such as Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Carlos Tevez, but its earlier success was tarnished by corruption.

Investigations in 2011 revealed that general manager Lou Shifang had bribed a referee in a major derby in Shanghai in 2003. Further investigation revealed additional match fixing, including a match against Shaanxi Guoli.

Ten years after the season, Shenhua were stripped of their league title, with the campaign declared null and void and no official champions recognized.

Published on March 18, 2026